Latch



J. A. SKOGERSON `l'une 23, 1925.

LATCH l 1 I M n illl 'WAMLMI Patented ,June 23, 1925.

f UNITED STATE-s JOHN A. sxosnnsoir or SIOUX CITY, Iowa.

LATCH Appnatim ineav July' '1,

Be it kncwn that 1, JOHN A. Siroennson, a citizen of the United States,.and a resident of Sioux City, in the county of vl/Voodbury and State of Iowa, have invented ,certain vnew and useful Improvements in Latches,

of which the following is a specification.-

My invention relates to latches, particspending portion of, the casingwith the ularly of the type usedin retaining the'door's of vehicles in closed position, and it is my object to provide such a latch which is of simple, durable and inexpensive construc- I aim toprovide in such alatch a bolt to operative positionwill serve to 'draw the door into closer and moresnug tit with Athe door casing, this objectv'being preferably carried out by the use kof a pivoted bolt adapted to swing into engagement with a keeper having a slot with lan inclined edge wherewith the bolt coacts. y y

Anothervobject is to provide such ar latch wherein the bolt is normally urged to` operative position by a spring, isretainedin inoperative position when the door is opened by a swinging latch, the latch contacting with the edge of the keeperwhen Vthe door is closed and thereby releasing the bolt to allow it to swing to operative position., and a door knob or handle beingprovided which serves to retract the bolt and to'open the door, the bolt-retaining latch being automatically urged into engagement with the bolt when the door is opened.

A still further object is tol arrange the spring in such relation with 'the bolt and the linking` mechanism connecting'the bolt with theY manually-operated handle, thatthe tension of the spring is, in effect, applied to the bolt on both sides of its pivot point in' order to increase theetfective force of the spring as applied to thebolt.

VV ith these and other'objects in view, my

invention consists in the construction, ar-

rangement and combination of the various parts of my device', whereby the objects contemplated are attained, ashereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an inverted horizontal sectional view through a door and a portion of its adjacent casing, with my latch installed therein, f

Fig..2 is a vertical vsectionalview of the ksame taken on the line 2- 2 ofFig. 1, the

rclosing motion of the door.

1 924. serial No. 7e3/rre.

l:door beine in sliO-htl oben ositionVV the ze an p v latchV being shown in inoperative position infull lines and in operative positionfin Vdotted lines.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of'a portion of the door, illustrating the latchv from the front.

Fig. 4 is an edge elevation of the correlreeper attached thereto.

" Fig. 5 is a' detail sectional view showing used the reference numeral, 10, to indicate generally a door casing, and 11, the door. Mounted in the door in the ordinaryinanner is the latch casing, 12, having the' front plate, 13. Fastened to the door casing, 10,

'and registeringfwitli the Afront plate, 13, is .the keeper, 111, in which is the slot, 15, having an inclined edge, 16. The edge, 16, is inclined downwardly in the direction of the The bolt,.17, is pivoted on a extends through a slot, 19, in theV plate, VV13, when in its operative position.""1 t will be seen that in moving from inoperative to operyative position'the boltl enters the slot, '15,v

and moves downwardly, engaging the inclined edge, 16, so as to draw the door laterfally with respect to its casing,v4 and thereby provide a snug tit betweenthe door and the casing bead, or the like, 19. y

In order toy maintain the bolt, 17, in: con rect posit-ion against the side of the casing, 12, the coliar or washer, 20,.is provided. Rotatably mounted in openings in the side of the casing, 12, is the sleeve, 21,hav ing a square opening through whiclris received the shaft, 22,.of the actuating handle yor door knob, 23. On the inner end of the shaft, v22, is removably mounted in the or dinary'manner the hand-le, 24, by means of wich .the door may be opened from the insi e. Y

Formed on the sleeve, 21, is the arm, 25, which is connected by means of a link," 26, to the bolt, 17, between thepivot, 1S, and the endv of the bolt. A spring, 27, connects the other end `of the'bolt to the link, 26, Vat a point near its pivotalconnection to the arm, 25, Iand the partsare so arranged that the spring tends te exert a downward Y push pin, 18, and

against the'bolt through the medium of the link, 26, and a corresponding upward pull to the end of the bolt on the other side of the ulcrum, which isv added to the downward push so as to give a maximum leverage in the force tending to move the bolt to operative position.

When the door is lope-n the bolt is maintained in inoperative position by the following described mechanism. The end of the bolt, 17, is provided with a finger, 23, which, when the bolt has been drawn to inoperative position, may be engaged by the pivoted latch member, 29. The latch, 29, as shown in Fig. 5, consists of a short bar oit metal, pivoted at 30, to the front plate, 13, and extending downwardly in the path of movement of th-e linger, 28. The latch, 29, is

Vnormally urged into such position by means ot a spring, 31, which contacts with the lug, 32. The lug, 32, extends forwardly through the slot, 33, in the plate,l 13, to a position where its path of travel during the swinging shut of the door will be intercepted by the edge of the keeper, 14. The keeper, 14, may be cut away, as at 34, in order to receive the lug, 32, and a registering groove, 35, may be cut for this purpose in the edge of the casing, 10.

It will now be seen that as the door moves t-o closed position the lug, 32, will be engaged by the edge of the keeper, 14, and will swing the latch, 29, laterally until the bolt, 17, is released. Vhen the bolt, 17, is released, the door and casing will be in proper register with each other in order that the bolt may enter the slot, 15.

My device is particularly adapted for use where it is desired to slam the door shut, in that the'action of the spring, 27, is very rapid, and the bolt, 17, will be snapped down with such force and momentum as to seat itself deeply in the groove, 15, and to thereby secure the door in a very snug fit within the casing.

In the application ot the latch to a vehicle, it will be seen that the vibration of the door caused by the travel of the vehicle will tend to seat the bolt, 17, deeper in the slot, 15, and to thereby reduce the vibration to a minimum.

When it is desired to open the door, the handle, 23, is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, 36, whereby the bolt will be drawn upwardly to position where the door may be opened. As soon as the door has been withdrawn from the casing, the spring, 31, will snapthe latch, 29, back into position in front of the linger, 23.

My latch is very simple in construction, and therel are no parts to get out of order.

Some changes may be 'made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my invention without departing from the .real spirit and purpose of my invention, and

it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms oi' structure or use ot inechanical equivalents which may be reason.- ably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a door and a door casing, a bolt pivoted in the door intermediate ol' its length adapted to move from inoperative position where it is contained entirely within the door, to operative position where it extends into the casing, a latch adapted to engage the bolt and to Vmaintain it in inoperative position, said latch having a portion disposed so as to engage the casing when the door is moved to closed position and to withdraw the latch from engagement with the bolt, manually operable means for returning the bolt to inoperative position, said' last means including a swinging arm, and a link attached to the arm and to the bolt at a position between the outer end and the pivot thereof and means for returning the latch to engagement with the bolt when the door is moved away from the casing.

` 2. In combination with a door and a door casing, a bolt pivoted in the door intermediate of its length for movement in the plane of the door from inoperative to operative position where it extends within the casing when the door is closed, means ltending to urge the bolt to operative position,

said means including a swinging arm, a link` attached to said arm and to the bolt at a position between its outer end and its pivot, and a retractile element joining said link and the inner end of the bolt, means for retaining the bolt in inoperative position when the door is open, and means for rendering said last means inoperative when the door is closed.

3. In combination with a door and a casing having a keeper, a latch housing, a bolt Y pivoted in the housing and adapted to move in the plane of the door from inoperative position, where it is contained within the door, to operative position where it extends into the casing when the door is closed, a swinging latch adapted to maintain the bolt in inoperative position when the door is open, said latch having a portion extending through an aperture in the outer wall of the housing, toward the keeper, adapted to engage the edge of the keeper when the door is closed and to withdraw the latch from engagement with the bolt.

4. In combination with a door and a casing, a keeper having a slot, one edge of the slot being inclined, a bolt pivoted in the door intermediate of its length for movement in the plane of the door from inthe-bolt into operative position, said means bolt, to urge the door to a closer t within its casing, and manually operable means for retracting the bolt to inoperative position.

V5. In a door latch, ra pivoted' swinging arm,'a bolt pivoted intermediate its ends and having one end adapted to engage a keeper when in operative position, a link pivoted tok the arin and to the bolt ata position intermediate the keeper-engaging end of the bolt and the pivot thereof, and a retractile element joining the link and the other end-ofthe bolt.

6. In a door latch, a pivoted swinging arm, a bolt pivoted intermediate its ends and having one end adapted to engage a keeper when in operative position, a4 link pivoted to the arni and to the bolt. at a. position intermediate the keeper-engaging end of the bolt and the pivot'thereof, a retractile element joining the link and the other end of the bolt, and manually operable means for oscillating the swinging arm.

7. In a device of the class described, in

combinationwith a door and its casing, a

housing, a keeper, a bolt pivoted in theV housing to Swingin the plane of the door to position to engage the keeper Whenvthe door is closed, a latch pivoted to swingv across the path of the bolt, said latch having a lug projecting in the plane of the door toward the door casing, adapted to engage the edge of the keeper when the door is closed, and to move the latch away 'from the path of the bolt.

t Signed at Sioux City, in the county of foodbury and State of Iowa, this 24th day of June, 1924.

JOHN A. sKoGEnsoN. 

